mannequin

Recently there is a construction site quite close to where I work and its existence has caused me to seek parking further down the street than normal. Every two hour’s I have the hassle of moving my car but while I’m finding a new parking spot, I get to glimpse into the window of a derelict shop with a few, almost naked, mannequins standing there unused. It reminds me of the scenes from my childhood.

When I was young, there was an old shopping mall near where I lived in Hong Kong. I used to walk through its arcades to get myself to school everyday. Since then, a new shopping mall has opened and a lot of shops have either closed down or moved to the new mall. I remember there were a few retail shops which had many mannequins standing in their windows. They were abandoned, without their costumes, placed together, naked in a group.

*images from flickr

It was when I walked past these shops everyday that the mannequins caught my eye. Perhaps it was simply because of a child’s inquisitive mind, intrigued by the naked bodies. Nevertheless, the way those mannequins presented themselves drew my attention. They all have this uncaring attitude towards how they are perceived; perhaps I believed they would transform themselves and become alive. However, they’re mannequins designed for fashion – representing an image of ‘cool’ and style. Although they were abandoned, their glamorous eyes and striking poses made the whole situation look like an art scene.

After those flashes from the early inspiration, I decide to search the internet for those abandoned mannequins. I found out that a lot of photographers were using mannequins as models. Subsequently I met a photographer named Werner Schnell through the flickr page. He is a photographer that shoots a variety of subjects. His technique of using close up, and diversity of angles has managed to capture and emphasize the individual mannequin's expression. This is what's of interest to me and which gave me the idea to create pieces of art using his images.

In the last few years I have noticed that a lot of things are influenced by 80’s style and culture. Personally I think art and music from this time are vibrant and energetic. Today’s artists have sampled elements and developed a new style built from the old. I took that as a reference point to develop and focus more on colour and composition to create a juxtaposition between the vibrant and energetic and the calm and serene.

Emotional

Logical

Women are basically emotional and men are basically logical, they are different. That's why they need each other.